My grandmother died last night (totally expected, we knew this was coming a month ago, and realistically for a few months before that) so I'm probably not going to get around to finishing Raw or watching this week's SD unless you guys tell me it was worth watching (I'm still spoiler-free so I might watch the women's #1 contendership match, though), but I did get to see the opening segment and wanted to share my thoughts on it because that's what I do, so here goes:

ROLLINS/AMBROSE OPENING VIDEO PACKAGE- Not sure if this was intentional or not, but the way this video package framed things made Rollins come across as more of a jerk to me than he did last week.

OPENING SEGMENT- Look… I’m not going to deny that this did a fine job of getting to where WWE wanted to go in a way that does make sense, but while watching it I was quite disappointed. Rollins and Ambrose were having this very human segment and they defied my (low, for WWE) expectations by actually brawling instead of just teaming up… and then the most WWE thing ever happened and Sheamus and Cesaro came out and attacked both guys just because they lost a skirmish last week without thinking through the consequences of their actions at all. If they want to beat up both Rollins and Ambrose, why wouldn’t they wait until they get backstage and jump each guy when he’s alone? Surely the very events that they are trying to get revenge for have taught them that Rollins and Ambrose are willing to temporarily put aside their issues to fight others, so all this attack will do is unify them. But SummerSlam is the big show and they want Seth and Dean to have their reunion and win the tag titles on the big show and this is the go-home show so they had to do something to take the arguing Seth and Dean and put them on the same page, so they did this. Then, because they have to be #1 contenders, Kurt came out and named them as the #1 contenders just because. This sort of thing is yet another example of how WWE’s inability (or unwillingness) to try to tell long-term (or even medium-term) stories robs the product of a potential richness of storytelling that is the sort of thing that can get fans really invested in the characters, and thus in the product.
If I was booking this I would have pulled the rug out from under everyone by just having Rollins and Ambrose brawl around until Kurt sends security out to break it up and then have Kurt book Rollins vs. Ambrose for SummerSlam. We would also be told that we’d be getting the Hardys vs. Gallows & Anderson tonight as a #1 contendership match, which Gallows & Anderson would win because Hardys vs. Cesarmus has run its course and also because you can use the Hardys going on a string of losses to lead to them becoming broken (if you think you’re going to get the rights soon. If not you can have Bo and Axel screw them due to some backstage confrontation with The Miz so you can book Hardys vs. Bo & Axel for SummerSlam so the Hardys have a match on the card, and you can have them be on Jason Jordan’s side as he goes after Miz’s IC Title to hopefully try to get him a rub off of them). The heel vs. heel tag title match will go over well with the Brooklyn crowd, and you don’t have any other match booked for SummerSlam that will be Strong-Style, and Rollins vs. Ambrose will hopefully get a 50-50 reaction, which will help drive home the point that neither guy is necessarily in the right here.
Sheamus & Cesaro would retain their titles cleanly, while the Rollins vs. Ambrose match would go a good thirty minutes (you’ve got six freakin’ hours, plus the Raw Women’s Title match, SD Women’s Title match, and IC Title match don’t need to- and probably shouldn’t- go too long, so you’ll have time), with the finish being a double-down where neither man can answer the ten-count. I would have some other team start trouble with Seth & Dean the next night on Raw, and the idea would be that they got all of their frustrations out on each other at the PPV and have regain respect for each other as warriors and then slowly start them teaming together again and eventually build to them winning the titles together at, like, Survivor Series.

Or at the very least, if, for some reason, you MUST have Rollins and Ambrose win the belts at SummerSlam, at least make this interesting by having Rollins and Ambrose immediately start brawling after they have dispatched the tag champs and then have Kurt send security out to break them up. Kurt would then announce that because Rollins beat Sheamus two weeks ago and Dean beat Cesaro last week, he is naming them #1 contenders and you can have them win the belts at SummerSlam doing the “partners who don’t trust each other” gimmick and have them slowly build that trust back up over time through their forced interaction of being champions together.

I'd definitely watch it. You need to see Tozawa V Neville for the title, and there's an Alexa Bliss nice little touch in the contender's match you'll love, plus also a good bit with the Big Show V Cass stuff this week that definitely helped to legitimize Cass AND The Club moreso. Wyatt didn't really say much so there's that.

I'd definitely watch it. You need to see Tozawa V Neville for the title, and there's an Alexa Bliss nice little touch in the contender's match you'll love, plus also a good bit with the Big Show V Cass stuff this week that definitely helped to legitimize Cass AND The Club moreso. Wyatt didn't really say much so there's that.

I'd definitely watch it. You need to see Tozawa V Neville for the title, and there's an Alexa Bliss nice little touch in the contender's match you'll love, plus also a good bit with the Big Show V Cass stuff this week that definitely helped to legitimize Cass AND The Club moreso. Wyatt didn't really say much so there's that.

I think I'm going to try to watch a chunk of it.

Trust me, sometimes the best thing you can do is let the crap slip away and some wrestling. There weren't really many overly contrived talking segments or promos or stupid supposed comedy at all actually.

#1 CONTENDERSHIP MATCH: Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax- 6.25/10
There is a glittery lifeguard chair for Alexa to sit in and watch this match from ringside. They tried to convince us it was a “throne.” It wasn’t even close.
We’re in Sasha’s home town of Boston and the commentator are all talking up how Sasha “made history” in Boston. I remembered that it was because she and Charlotte had some kind of first-ever women’s match here, but I couldn’t remember which match it was, which should be all of the info you need to see the problem with how WWE pushed these two “making history” every other week or so for a period of three months. But just in case it isn’t (and because I need the transition to my next topic) the thing that I did remember about the big Charlotte vs. Sasha title match in Boston is that Sasha lost. Wins and losses matter, and WWE needs to do a better job at making them matter, because victory or defeat is what resonates with people more than a pre-announced and much-hyped “making of history.”
I hate this “biggest part of the summer” nickname for SummerSlam. It’s not a party. It’s a f*cking sporting event. The NFL doesn’t call the Superbowl “the biggest party of the winter.” They call it the f*cking grand championship game because that’s what it is!
I’m watching this match on Tuesday night. Has the internet overreacted to Corey Graves saying that Sasha must feel like she “got hit by a car” yet?
Sasha won this time. The idea that they did the finish they did on the PPV and this wasn’t their intended goal is mind-boggling… and yet this match kind of feels stale to me even though I think they’ve only had one main roster singles match.

KURT & THE HARDY BOYZ BACKSTAGE- the Miz-Tourage show up and I don’t care anymore so I’m just going to stop watching.